Day Twelve - Guernsey - 14 April

This was our last day on Guernsey as we set off to Jersey tomorrow morning. We were out early at the weekly Farmers’ Market at the Sausmarez Manor at St Martins. It was only a few kilometres from our hotel and on the bus route into St Peter Port. The manor house is Guernsey’s historic house having being the seat of the Sausmarez family for 800 years.

The market was small and quaint but well attended by the locals. We indulged in home-made patty cakes before catching the bus into town for a coffee and some final sightseeing.

We couldn’t leave the island before seeing the Guernsey Museum which sits on a hilltop behind St Peter Port. The views were very good over the harbour. The Titanic has been a big news story in the UK this week given its 100th anniversary since its sinking and when we entered the museum we were given a name of one of the Titanic’s passengers. At one of the exhibits there was re-build of a second-class cabin and it was there that we found if we survived or not. I survived because I was a woman and a First Class passenger but Henk drowned as he was a labourer and a Third Class passenger. His body was found unlike many others. It was an interesting way to get involved in the anniversary. Following a quick bite to eat at the museum we went to the nearby Candie Gardens.

The basic plan of the gardens has remained as it was originally laid out from Victorian times. There were hundreds of tulips in bloom and it was a pretty scene. Victor Hugo’s statue sits high in the gardens and looks towards his homeland France. Hugo was exiled in Guernsey for 15 years. The statue was given to Guernsey by France in 1914.

On the way to the bus terminus we visited the Victorian Shop and Parlour which is run by the National Trust of Guernsey. When we stepped into the shop it was a step back in time as we walked into the old lolly shop and behind was a replica of an old parlour.

We were very pleased we had visited the shop. We bought old fashioned lollies including Bull’s Eyes and Guernsey Drops and ate these later on the bus. To finish off the day we hopped on the 7A bus at the terminus at St Peter Port and circumnavigated the island again. We did this on the first day on the island to get our bearings but this time the journey meant a lot more as we passed sites we had either visited or learned about during the week. The trip took about an hour and a half and we got off the bus at our hotel rather than going back into St Peter Port. By this time it was four o’clock and I was ready for a rest before going to dinner. Henk went for an hour’s walk. It was a very good last day on the island.